Suction head for vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a suction head for vacuum cleaners. The suction head includes a housing constituting an outer appearance of the suction head, a plurality of intake ports formed in a lower surface of the housing, and a sweeper disposed between the intake ports.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Korean patent applicationnumber 10-2008-0061342, filed on Jun. 27, 2008, which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a suction head for vacuum cleaners and,more particularly, to a suction head for vacuum cleaners which canefficiently suction dust or other foreign matter from a floor surfaceirrespective of forward or backward movement of the suction head.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a vacuum cleaner is configured to generate a strong suctionforce by driving a motor to collect dust or other foreign matter fromthe floor or the like.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional vacuum cleaner and FIG. 2is a bottom view of a suction head of the conventional vacuum cleanershown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional vacuum cleaner includes a body 2having a motor for generating a suction force received therein, aconnection hose 4 formed of a flexible material and communicating withthe interior of the body 2, an extension pipe 6 connected to theconnection hose 4 and allowing adjustment in length thereof, and asuction head 8 detachably connected to one end of the extension pipe 6to suction foreign matter from a floor surface.

The body 2 is provided with a filter which separates foreign matter fromair suctioned into the body 2.

The extension pipe 6 is provided at an upper end thereof with a handle5, which includes an operation button 5 a for manipulating the vacuumcleaner.

As shown in FIG. 2, the suction head 8 has an intake port 8 a formed ina lower surface thereof and a sweeper 8 b located behind the intake port8 a. The suction head 8 suctions dust and other foreign matter from thefloor through the intake port 8 a and the sweeper 8 b is used to brushup the dust and other foreign matter from the suction head 8.

In the conventional vacuum cleaner, when the suction head is movedbackward, a path of suctioning dust and foreign matter on the floor tothe intake port of the suction head is blocked by the sweeper, so thatdust and foreign matter on the floor cannot be easily suctioned into thesuction head, thereby deteriorating cleaning efficiency. Therefore,there is a need for an improved vacuum cleaner that overcomes such aproblem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is conceived to solve the above and other problemsof the related art, and an aspect of the present invention is to providea suction head for vacuum cleaners which can efficiently suction dust orother foreign matter from a floor surface irrespective of forward orbackward movement of the suction head.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a suction head forvacuum cleaners includes a housing constituting an outer appearance ofthe suction head; a plurality of intake ports formed in a lower surfaceof the housing; and a sweeper disposed between the intake ports.

The plurality of intake ports may include a first intake port formed infront of the sweeper and a second intake port formed behind the sweeper.

The suction head may further include a manipulation part exposing orconcealing the sweeper from or within the housing, and the lower surfaceof the housing may be formed with an exposing-concealing hole throughwhich the sweeper is exposed from or concealed within the housing.

The manipulation part may include a mounting member received in thehousing and having the sweeper mounted thereon; a plurality of pressingmembers compressing the mounting member; a connection shaft connectingthe pressing members to each other; and a knob rotating the pressingmembers.

The suction head may further include an elastic member interposedbetween a lower side of the mounting member and an inner side of thehousing.

The knob may be exposed on an upper surface of the housing.

The pressing members may be rotated around the connection shaft providedas a rotational center when the knob is rotated.

Each of the pressing members may include a V-shaped protrusion formed ata lower portion thereof, and the mounting member may be formed at anupper surface thereof with a seating groove on which the pressingmembers are seated.

The pressing members may include a first pressing member disposed at aleft side of the housing and a second pressing member disposed at aright side of the housing, the connection shaft may connect one side ofthe first pressing member to one side of the second pressing member, andthe knob may be coupled to the first pressing member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof exemplary embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional vacuum cleaner;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a suction head of the conventional vacuumcleaner shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a suction head according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the suction head of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side section view of the suction head taken along line A-Aof FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the suction head, an upper portion ofwhich is cut, according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side section view of the suction head taken along line B-Bof FIG. 3; and

FIG. 8 is a side section view of the suction head shown in FIG. 7, wherea knob is rotated in one direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, one exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Itshould be noted that the drawings are not to precise scale and may beexaggerated in thickness of lines or sizes of components for descriptiveconvenience and clarity only. Furthermore, the terms as used herein aredefined by taking functions of the present invention into account andcan be changed according to the custom or intention of users oroperators. Therefore, definition of the terms should be made accordingto the entirety of the disclosure set forth herein.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a suction head according to oneembodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a bottom view of thesuction head of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a side section view of the suctionhead taken along line A-A of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, a suction head 100 for vacuum cleanersaccording to one embodiment of the present invention includes a housing110 and a suction duct 120.

The housing 110 constitutes an appearance of the suction head 100according to this embodiment. The housing 110 has a plurality of intakeports, for example, a first intake port 112 and a second intake port114, formed in a lower surface thereof. Although the suction headaccording to this embodiment is illustrated as including two intakeports, the present invention is not limited to this configuration andthe housing may include three or more intake ports.

The suction duct 120 is disposed inside the housing 110. The suctionduct 120 includes a main duct 122, and first and second suction parts124, 126 divided from the main duct 122.

The main duct 122 communicates with a coupling part 130. The couplingpart 130 is provided to the suction head 100 to be connected to anextension pipe (not shown), which communicates with a body of the vacuumcleaner.

The first suction part 124 communicates with the first intake port 112formed in the lower surface of the housing 110, and the second suctionpart 126 communicates with the second intake port 114 separated apredetermined distance from the first intake port 112. As a result, thefirst suction part 124 communicates with an outside of the housing 110through the first intake port 112 and the second suction part 126communicates with the outside of the housing through the second intakeport 114.

The housing 110 is provided with a sweeper 140. The sweeper 140 isdisposed between the first intake port 112 and the second intake port114. In other words, the first intake port 112 is located at a frontpart of the suction head 110 and the second intake port 114 is locatedat a rear part of the suction head 100 with reference to the sweeper140.

Next, an operation principle of the suction head 100 for vacuum cleanersaccording to this embodiment will be described.

When performing a cleaning operation with a vacuum cleaner including thesuction head 100 according to this embodiment, a suction force generatedin a body of the vacuum cleaner is transferred to the suction head 100through an extension pipe of the vacuum cleaner. Then, dust or otherforeign matter is suctioned into the suction head 100 from a targetregion, for example, a floor surface, by the suction force.

When the cleaning operation is performed while the suction head 100 ismoved forward, dust or other foreign matter in front of the suction head100 is suctioned from the floor surface into the suction head 100through the first intake port 112 before being obstructed by the sweeper140 since the first intake port 112 is located at the front part of thesweeper 140 in front of suction head 100. As a result, suctioning of thedust and the like through the first intake port 112 can be efficientlyachieved.

On the contrary, when the cleaning operation is performed while thesuction head 100 is moved rearward, dust or other foreign matter behindthe suction head 100 is suctioned from the floor surface into thesuction head 100 through the second intake port 114 before beingobstructed by the sweeper 140 since the second intake port 114 islocated at the rear part of the suction head 100 behind the sweeper 140.As a result, suctioning of the dust and the like through the secondintake port 114 can be efficiently achieved.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the suction head, an upper portion ofwhich is cut, according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG.7 is a side section view of the suction head taken along line B-B ofFIG. 3, and FIG. 8 is a side section view of the suction head shown inFIG. 7, where a knob is rotated in one direction.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the sweeper 140 is provided to the housing110 to be exposed from the housing 110 or concealed within the housing110 by a manipulation part 150. The manipulation part 150 includes amounting member 151, pressing members 156A, 156B, a connection shaft154, and a knob 152.

The mounting member 151 is received in the housing 110 and is providedat a lower portion thereof with the sweeper 140. An elastic member 153is interposed between the mounting member 151 and the housing 110. Theelastic member 153 is coupled at one end thereof to a lower surface ofthe mounting member 151 and at the other end thereof to an upper surfaceof the housing 110 to resiliently support the mounting member 151.Further, the mounting member 151 is formed at an upper surface thereofwith a seating groove 151 a on which protrusions 156 a described beloware seated.

The pressing members 156A, 156B compress the mounting member 151 toforce the sweeper 140 to be exposed from or concealed within the housing110. In this case, the sweeper 140 is exposed from or concealed withinthe housing 110 through an exposing-concealing hole 111, which is formedon the lower surface of the housing 110. Each of the pressing members156A, 156B has a rhombus cross-section, and is provided at a lowerportion thereof with a V-shaped protrusion 156 a. When the knob 152 isturned, the protrusions 156 a are seated on the seating groove 151 a ofthe mounting member 151 and continuously compress the sweeper 140.

The manipulation part 150 includes a plurality of pressing members.According to this embodiment, the pressing members 156A, 156B comprise afirst pressing member 156A disposed at a left side of the housing 110and a second pressing member 156B disposed at a right side of thehousing 110. As such, since the pressing members 156A, 156B are providedat opposite sides of the sweeper 140, the pressing members 156A, 156Bcan uniformly push the opposite sides of the sweeper 140 during rotationof the knob 152. As a result, the sweeper 140 can be uniformly exposedfrom the housing 110 without being biased toward one side.

One side of the first pressing member 156A is connected to one side ofthe second pressing member 156B via a connection shaft 154, and the knob152 is coupled to the first pressing member 156A. Therefore, when theknob 152 is rotated, the first pressing member 156A is rotated togenerate a rotational force, which in turn is transferred to the secondpressing member 156B, so that the second pressing member 156B is rotatedat the same angle in the same direction as those of the first pressingmember 156A. As a result, the two pressing members 156A, 156B located atthe opposite sides of the sweeper 140 can be rotated simply bymanipulating the single knob 152.

The connection shaft 154 connects the first and second pressing members156A, 156B to each other. As a result, when the first pressing member156A is rotated, the second pressing member 156B is rotatedsimultaneously. The connection shaft 154 may be supported by an innerconfiguration of the housing 110 to serve as a rotational center of thepressing members 156A, 156B during the rotation of the knob 152.Therefore, when a user rotates the knob 152, the first pressing member156A coupled to the knob 152 is rotated around the connection shaft 154.

The knob 152 is rotatably mounted on the housing 110 and is exposed onan upper surface of the housing 110 to be easily manipulated by a user.In this embodiment, the knob 152 is illustrated as being coupled to thefirst pressing member 156A located at the left side of the housing 110,but it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to thisconfiguration. Alternatively, the knob 152 may be coupled to the secondpressing member 156B located at the right side of the housing 110.

Next, an operation principle of the sweeper 140 exposed from orconcealed within the housing 110 in the suction head 100 for vacuumcleaners according to this embodiment will be described.

When a user compresses the knob 152 in one direction with the sweeper140 inserted into the housing 110 as shown in FIG. 7, the knob 152 andthe first pressing member 156A are rotated around the connection shaft154 serving as the rotational center in the counter-clockwise direction.Then, the second pressing member 156B connected to the first pressingmember 156A via the connection shaft 154 is also rotated in thecounter-clockwise direction. By the rotation of the first and secondpressing members 156A, 156B, the protrusions 156 a of the first andsecond pressing members 156A, 156B are seated on the seating groove 151a of the mounting member 151, and the sweeper 140 is exposed from thehousing 110 through the exposing-concealing hole 111 as the mountingmember 151 is moved downward.

On the contrary, when a user compresses the knob 152 in the oppositedirection to conceal the sweeper 140 within the housing 110, theprotrusions 156 a are separated from the seating groove 151 a and thepressing members 156A, 156B are rotated in the clockwise direction. Inthis case, since the force compressing the mounting member 151 isremoved by the rotation of the pressing members 156A, 156B, the mountingmember 151 is moved upward by a restoring force of the elastic member153 to allow the sweeper 140 to return back to the interior of thehousing 110.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the suction head forvacuum cleaners has intake ports formed in front of and behind a sweeperto allow a user to perform a cleaning operation more easily andefficiently while moving the suction head forward and rearward.

Further, according to one embodiment of the invention, the suction headallows the sweeper to be exposed from or concealed within the housingsimply by manipulating a knob, thereby enhancing convenience of use.

Moreover, according to one embodiment of the invention, the suction headallows the sweeper to be exposed from the housing according to user'sneeds, thereby providing a variety of cleaning options.

Although some embodiment have been provided to illustrate the presentinvention in conjunction with the drawings, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that the embodiments are given by way of illustrationonly, and that various modifications and equivalent embodiments can bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Further, the description of the suction head for vacuumcleaners as provided herein is only one example of the presentinvention, and the configuration of the suction head according to thepresent invention can be applied to other devices. Accordingly, thescope of the present invention should be limited only by theaccompanying claims.

1. A suction head for vacuum cleaners, comprising: a housingconstituting an outer appearance of the suction head; a plurality ofintake ports formed in a lower surface of the housing; and a sweeperdisposed between the intake ports.
 2. The suction head according toclaim 1, wherein the plurality of intake ports comprise a first intakeport formed in front of the sweeper and a second intake port formedbehind the sweeper.
 3. The suction head according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a manipulation part exposing or concealing the sweeper fromor within the housing, the lower surface of the housing being formedwith an exposing-concealing hole through which the sweeper is exposedfrom or concealed within the housing.
 4. The suction head according toclaim 3, wherein the manipulation part comprises a mounting memberreceived in the housing and having the sweeper mounted thereon, aplurality of pressing members compressing the mounting member, aconnection shaft connecting the pressing members to each other; and aknob coupled to the pressing members and rotating the pressing members.5. The suction head according to claim 4, further comprising: an elasticmember interposed between a lower side of the mounting member and aninner side of the housing.
 6. The suction head according to claim 4,wherein the knob is exposed on an upper surface of the housing.
 7. Thesuction head according to claim 4, wherein the pressing members arerotated around the connection shaft provided as a rotational center whenthe knob is rotated.
 8. The suction head according to claim 4, whereineach of the pressing members comprises a V-shaped protrusion formed at alower portion thereof, and the mounting member is formed at an uppersurface thereof with a seating groove on which the pressing members areseated.
 9. The suction head according to claim 4, wherein the pressingmembers comprise a first pressing member disposed at a left side of thehousing and a second pressing member disposed at a right side of thehousing, the connection shaft connecting one side of the first pressingmember to one side of the second pressing member, and the knob iscoupled to the first pressing member.